The devices for controlling lighting effects are widely used in entertainment business. Generally, a system for creating lighting effects comprises several dimmer devices governing intensities of light generating devices. The dimmer devices in turn are controlled by a central lighting console using industry-standard Digital MultipleX (DMX) protocol by means of standard DMX cables. There are also dimmer devices which are able to receive DMX signal via radio network.
Propsmasters are often called upon to create, for example, “dancing light and shadow” as might be cast by fire in a barrel, a blue-white shimmer of an arc-welder, or a TV screen facing away from the observer. Many of these effects can benefit from the use of random numbers to create visual variation. For example, a fire can change somewhat unpredictably as it reacts to changes in air currents.
The lighting designer and console programmer must painstakingly create the desired “looks”, emulating randomness where needed. To create this random look requires multiple channels and they must appear unrelated to one another. This results in a more difficult programming task.
Creating these effects with a lighting console also consumes many control channels, since each individual dimmer should be connected to a light source, while individually programmed and controlled. For example, a small fire effect can be convincingly created using 4 control channels. But to create 6 such fire effects in different locations on the stage, all functioning at the same time but independent from one another, would require 24 control channels.